Published: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Lake Stevens man has plan to overhaul schools
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Mark Mulligan / The Herald
David Iseminger, who lives with his wife and four children in Lake Stevens, sits in his home office surrounded by binders full of information he has used in creating a plan to overhaul how Washington state pays for K-12 education.
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Mark Mulligan / The Herald
David Iseminger, who lives with his wife and four children in Lake Stevens, sits in his home office surrounded by binders full of information he has used in creating a plan to overhaul how Washington State pays for K-12 education.
LAKE STEVENS — David Iseminger knows exactly how he'd overhaul how Washington funds its public schools.
Now the trick is finding enough people, including state lawmakers, to listen.
“As goes education, so goes the community, so goes the state, so goes the nation,” said Iseminger, a Lake Stevens School Board member, University of Washington English graduate, Microsoft manager and author of a dozen computer technology and programming books.
His plan is an outgrowth of last year's House Bill 2261, a new law that commits Washington to reforming the state's basic education system over the next eight years. The bill redefined and expanded basic education, but didn't have a way to pay for it.
Iseminger, 40, said his plan doesn't create any new taxes and can be phased in during a down economy. Among other things, his plan includes a formula that would dedicate future revenues to education, taking away some budgeting authority from state lawmakers.
He expects a tough sell, given the fact that his plan is a radically new approach at a time the Legislature is grappling with a $2.6 billion shortfall. Lawmakers could cut hundreds of millions of dollars from education during the next two months.
Iseminger vows to be persistent.
It is a quality that has served him well since childhood in Yakima.
At 13, his mother died of cancer and, he said, shortly thereafter his father was placed in an institution. The teenager was taken in by family and friends and still managed to graduate in the top 5 percent of his high school class.
At one point, with $2 in his pocket and nowhere to stay, he showed up on the doorstep of his former chemistry teacher with a duffel bag by his side. He stayed for four months.
Now a father of four, including twins born in December, Iseminger said the help he got along the way motivates him to try to build an educational system where other children can thrive, regardless of life circumstances.
“If they stick with it, I want them to have the same opportunity I was afforded,” Iseminger said.
His plan has the backing of the Washington State School Directors Association's board of directors, which represents school districts across the state. Iseminger also has worked closely with a long list of other education groups.
In a nutshell, Iseminger's plan would:
n Dedicate 50 percent of annual increases in state revenues for K-12 education, until full implementation of basic education reform is complete in 2018
n Shift the existing 24 percent local-district levy lid from district to state collection using existing state tax authority, and set every district to 24 percent
n Use increased state bonding authority for school construction and remodeling, which would mean more money going into school building projects
n Prioritize basic education finance reform to provide resources to students with the highest needs
n Change local-district levy lids to 10 percent or $1 per $1,000 of assessed value, whichever is more
Two state lawmakers from Lake Stevens said Monday they want to get the plan in the hands of their colleagues as well as those on a panel now drafting possible new ways Washington pays for public schools.
Republican Rep. Mike Hope said he'll introduce legislation containing all the ideas and call on the state's Quality Education Council to consider them as it develops its recommendations on this new funding method. The council was created to carry out House Bill 2261.
“We have to get serious about funding education and I think David has a great plan to be looked at,” Hope said. “It definitely takes care of the issues we've seen in the past.”
Democratic Sen. Steve Hobbs is not going to follow the same tack. He said he will be delivering the proposal to the Senate's representatives on the Quality Education Council for inclusion in that group's discussions.
“I want them to look at it,” he said. “We have to look at all the options out there.”
Iseminger, who served on a group advising the Quality Education Council, has been fielding calls from House and Senate staff members who are analyzing the package. He said he wants them to try to punch holes in it so it can be honed.
He knows tough questions beat the alternative.
“It's much better than being ignored,” he said.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield contributed to this story.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
More info
To learn more about David Iseminger's education financing plan, go to: http://tinyurl.com/Iseminger.
Now the trick is finding enough people, including state lawmakers, to listen.
“As goes education, so goes the community, so goes the state, so goes the nation,” said Iseminger, a Lake Stevens School Board member, University of Washington English graduate, Microsoft manager and author of a dozen computer technology and programming books.
His plan is an outgrowth of last year's House Bill 2261, a new law that commits Washington to reforming the state's basic education system over the next eight years. The bill redefined and expanded basic education, but didn't have a way to pay for it.
Iseminger, 40, said his plan doesn't create any new taxes and can be phased in during a down economy. Among other things, his plan includes a formula that would dedicate future revenues to education, taking away some budgeting authority from state lawmakers.
He expects a tough sell, given the fact that his plan is a radically new approach at a time the Legislature is grappling with a $2.6 billion shortfall. Lawmakers could cut hundreds of millions of dollars from education during the next two months.
Iseminger vows to be persistent.
It is a quality that has served him well since childhood in Yakima.
At 13, his mother died of cancer and, he said, shortly thereafter his father was placed in an institution. The teenager was taken in by family and friends and still managed to graduate in the top 5 percent of his high school class.
At one point, with $2 in his pocket and nowhere to stay, he showed up on the doorstep of his former chemistry teacher with a duffel bag by his side. He stayed for four months.
Now a father of four, including twins born in December, Iseminger said the help he got along the way motivates him to try to build an educational system where other children can thrive, regardless of life circumstances.
“If they stick with it, I want them to have the same opportunity I was afforded,” Iseminger said.
His plan has the backing of the Washington State School Directors Association's board of directors, which represents school districts across the state. Iseminger also has worked closely with a long list of other education groups.
In a nutshell, Iseminger's plan would:
n Dedicate 50 percent of annual increases in state revenues for K-12 education, until full implementation of basic education reform is complete in 2018
n Shift the existing 24 percent local-district levy lid from district to state collection using existing state tax authority, and set every district to 24 percent
n Use increased state bonding authority for school construction and remodeling, which would mean more money going into school building projects
n Prioritize basic education finance reform to provide resources to students with the highest needs
n Change local-district levy lids to 10 percent or $1 per $1,000 of assessed value, whichever is more
Two state lawmakers from Lake Stevens said Monday they want to get the plan in the hands of their colleagues as well as those on a panel now drafting possible new ways Washington pays for public schools.
Republican Rep. Mike Hope said he'll introduce legislation containing all the ideas and call on the state's Quality Education Council to consider them as it develops its recommendations on this new funding method. The council was created to carry out House Bill 2261.
“We have to get serious about funding education and I think David has a great plan to be looked at,” Hope said. “It definitely takes care of the issues we've seen in the past.”
Democratic Sen. Steve Hobbs is not going to follow the same tack. He said he will be delivering the proposal to the Senate's representatives on the Quality Education Council for inclusion in that group's discussions.
“I want them to look at it,” he said. “We have to look at all the options out there.”
Iseminger, who served on a group advising the Quality Education Council, has been fielding calls from House and Senate staff members who are analyzing the package. He said he wants them to try to punch holes in it so it can be honed.
He knows tough questions beat the alternative.
“It's much better than being ignored,” he said.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield contributed to this story.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
More info
To learn more about David Iseminger's education financing plan, go to: http://tinyurl.com/Iseminger.
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